


Expressive Qualities

by whenidance



Series: Consonance and Dissonance [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-01
Updated: 2011-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:27:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenidance/pseuds/whenidance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of a New Year's hookup. Will Kurt be able to survive a quarter dating Blaine while also sitting through his lectures three times a week? Will Finn blab their relationship status to the whole College of Music? Will someone walk in on Kurt and Blaine in a compromising position in Blaine's office? Will Kurt's plans to move to New York after graduation be crushed? (Spoilers: at least some of these things are true.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expressive Qualities

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Kerry/ccmskatechick, my beta, who is amazing and talks me through the insane amount of garbage in my head. [Warnings: Do we warn for facefucking and rimming? That. Also, a teeny bit of angst, but I promise I make them happy again. Unlike some people.]

Blaine drove Kurt home the night of the first instead of making him and Beau walk the five blocks. Kurt had spent over twenty-four hours at Blaine's house and it was weird to him that it hadn't felt awkward at any point. He probably would have stayed even longer if he hadn't gotten a barrage of texts from Finn saying they came back early and asking where he was and why he had the dog with him.

"Hey," Kurt called out as he walked in the door and dropped his keys on the catchall. He found Finn parked on the couch watching something on ESPN. Beau trotted over to greet him. Finn looked up for a second, nodding in Kurt's direction, before turning his attention to the dog. "How was Cleveland? Why are you back a day early?"

Finn shot Kurt a look that told him there were stories to tell and Finn wasn't ready to tell them. "Where were you?" he asked, scrunching up his face, obviously confused. "I thought you were going to hang out here," he added when Kurt didn't answer right away.

"Liz. I was with Liz." Kurt hated to lie, but Kurt had learned in high school that Finn was a horrible secret keeper. It was just easier this way, and there was no chance Finn would ask for more details about what Kurt had been up to with his ex-girlfriend.

Finn's mouth formed a perfect circle, as if it hit him that's why Kurt had been so secretive. Let him think that, Kurt thought. "Whenever you're ready to tell me about the hot mess that went down the past few days let me know. I'll be in my room." He waved a hand dismissively at Finn and wandered down the hall.

An hour later, Kurt flopped onto his bed, fresh from a shower and with the stack of magazines he'd been saving to look through. He had just picked up Vogue when he heard his phone ring. He looked down and realized it was Mercedes. "Hello?" Kurt answered, wincing a little when he realized he hadn't responded to any of her texts. He opened Vogue anyway, figuring he could multitask.

"Happy New Year to you too," Mercedes replied haughtily and Kurt could picture her face instantly even though she was hundreds of miles away in her dorm room in Indiana. "Boy, did you lose your phone in Cincinnati or what?"

"It was Cleveland, and I didn't go," Kurt said, still flipping through Vogue and placing a post-it on a page with a gorgeous tweed jacket he had to research more. "And, sorry, I really am. I was ... otherwise engaged."

"Kurt, it's after nine pm on New Year's Day. You were _otherwise engaged_ that whole time?"

Kurt paused for a moment, searching for a snappy comeback, but it didn't come. "Yes."

It was Mercedes's turn to pause while she searched for her own words. "Okay, I'm gonna need details of all that, then."

Kurt smiled for a moment before telling her everything (the PG-13 version, anyway). Mercedes knew all about Blaine, from Kurt's reports in classes early on (Mercedes had dubbed him 'Hottie P,' for professor - Kurt would never use that nickname, _never_ ) to his recount of their bar adventure he told her one night over Christmas break in Lima.

"All is forgiven," Mercedes finally said when Kurt had finished his story. "Damn, Kurt. _Damn._ "

"I know. This kind of stuff doesn't happen to me. It's so ... _surreal,_ " Kurt said, fanning the Vogue abandoned by his side.

"It's about time it did!" Mercedes exclaimed and they both burst out laughing. He asked about her New Year's Eve, which didn't take nearly as long to explain, before sending his love and hanging up the phone.

He had just found the strength to throw himself back into the magazine when his phone beeped again. A text. A text _from Blaine._ He sure didn't waste any time, did he?

 _Hey. It's probably too early to be texting you, seeing as I last saw you two hours ago, but are you busy this weekend?_

followed by

 _I have work stuff all day and night tomorrow, but I'm free Saturday night. I'd love to grab dinner or something. -- B_

Kurt grinned to himself. Of course Blaine would feel the need to be a gentleman and take Kurt out to dinner.

 _I suppose that would be acceptable. - K_

Blaine's reply came almost instantly.

 _Playing hard to get? I see how it is. I knew I shouldn't have sucked your dick that last time._

Blaine's words sent Kurt sputtering with laughter. Okay, he supposed Blaine could shed that gentleman image pretty quickly.

 _You loved it and you know it. Seven o'clock work?_

 _'I suppose that would be acceptable.'_

 _Smart ass. Sleep well._

 _You too, Kurt._

\---

Kurt kept busy over the next two days. Friday he had an orientation for his new job at OSU’s arts center that was attached to the music building. After two years of searching, he finally found an on-campus job that wasn't too awful. It paid a dollar an hour more than the consignment shop and he could use downtime to finish homework instead of restocking clothes. Plus, Artist Services Assistant was more impressive on his resume than Sales Associate.

Saturday, he dropped by the consignment shop to sell the bag of clothes he'd filled during his closet reorganization, and spent most of the money he got back on a new outfit for his date with Blaine. Meredeth, the store owner, had been saving a brand new pair of boots for Kurt (tall and black and _expensive_ leather) - when she bought them from a customer, she noticed they were Kurt's size and set them in the back. The store was dead so between the two of them, they came up with a fantastic outfit - mostly black and tight, but with the boots, it worked. She even gave him his employee discount one last time as a belated Christmas present.

Kurt let Blaine pick the restaurant since it was his idea to do dinner. He met him at a hole-in-the-wall Italian place about ten minutes away from their respective houses promptly at seven. Kurt heard Blaine breathe in sharply when he got out of the car, so he knew he'd done well on the outfit. Blaine hadn't even seen the top half since it was covered by his coat.

The restaurant wasn't very busy for a Saturday night and they were seated in a booth near the back. Kurt had been worried that the conversation might be awkward at first, but it flowed smoothly, both of them talking about what had gone on in the past two days.

"I went to lunch with Bradley today," Blaine said after they had ordered their meals, breaking a breadstick in half. "He flies back to Princeton tomorrow."

"Oh, really? Do tell me more," Kurt replied, quite interested in how all of this went down.

Blaine did the little laughing-blushing-hiding face thing again, and it made Kurt's heart flutter a bit. _God,_ that was adorable. "I told him we knew each other from OSU and we figured out that you knew him from Dalton. He asked what you were up to, and apparently I knew too much for a casual acquaintance."

"Bradley was always a smart one," Kurt commented, smiling fondly. He wasn’t lying when he told Blaine he wished he’d kept in touch with Bradley better. He didn’t keep in touch with _anyone_ from Dalton. He had dated a fellow Warbler, Josh, for a year and a half in between his junior and senior years and they’d had a nasty breakup right before prom because Josh planned to go to New York without Kurt. New Directions had banded around him (and frankly, he was surprised, because he knew some of the guys really did like Josh), so he had just assumed the Warblers had done the same on the other side, even the ones who’d graduated.

“He actually threatened me with bodily harm, you know,” Blaine continued, looking across the table and meeting Kurt’s eye. “He threatened to physically injure me if I didn’t treat you right. I’ve been his older brother his whole life and he hasn’t talked to you in over three years. You must be some friend, Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt was about to laugh at the bodily harm comment, but it caught in his throat at Blaine’s last line. If he’d learned anything from the debacle with Josh, it was how he needed to treat his friends better. He probably wouldn’t still be in contact today with Mercedes or Rachel if it weren’t for them standing by his side, because frankly, he had placed more importance on his relationship with his boyfriend rather than that of his friends. “I think it says more about your brother than it does me,” Kurt finally answered, his voice thicker than he would have liked. He sipped at his iced tea as a distraction before Blaine realized he’d struck a nerve and continued on with his story.

Kurt wasn’t sure if Blaine had been to the restaurant before. He decided against asking in case it was a place he and his ex had frequented, but when they finally dug into dinner (Kurt with the mushroom ravioli and Blaine with the chicken piccata), Blaine mentioned that he had forgotten how good the food was. So, not a place he frequented.

Once the waitress cleared away their plates, she asked about coffee and dessert. Blaine quickly said no, and Kurt just raised an eyebrow at him. He didn’t necessarily want either, but the fact that Blaine assumed – well, Kurt didn’t want _that_ to become a habit. Blaine looked like he was about to burst out laughing at Kurt’s glance, and he was about to inform him he didn’t particularly appreciate it, when Blaine winked and whispered, “Trust me.”

They were barely out the door, walking into the snowy parking lot, when Blaine grabbed Kurt around the waist and whispered in his ear. "You can't wear pants like that and expect me to want anything but you for dessert."

Yeah. Those pants were worth every penny.

\---

Kurt knew he was being a bit of a tease, but he ran a load of darks through the washing machine on Sunday and wore the black pants to Blaine's class on Monday. He hadn't reused an item in his wardrobe that fast ... maybe ever. He toned them down with his slouchy navy sweater and black oxfords, but he knew Blaine recognized them from the look in his eyes when Kurt greeted him with "Hello, Dr. Anderson! Have a nice vacation?"

"I did," Blaine said after a sip of coffee from his mug, probably to steady his voice. "I spent a lot of time with family ... some friends ... you?"

"Perfect," Kurt said simply before turning and heading to his usual seat. He threw his bag on the one next to him. He'd texted Liz over the weekend (not _only_ to get the scoop on her New Years just in case) and they'd swapped schedules. Liz was in two of his three classes this quarter, and having her in Blaine's class would be a welcome distraction so he didn't spend his whole time staring at his boyfriend. Or ... whatever Blaine was.

Liz walked in a few moments later, two Starbucks cups in hand, and passed one off to Kurt. "Did hell freeze over or did you just buy me coffee?" Kurt asked, eying her a little suspiciously.

"Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, welcome to the New Year. I expect something equally as fabulous for my gift," she said with a smirk, sliding into the seat beside him.

Her eyes were twinkling as if she had a really juicy piece of gossip, so Kurt turned slightly, and whispered, "Out with it."

"So," she began, drawing out her syllables to drive Kurt crazy with suspense. "I was behind Liles and Jackson at Starbucks and they were talking about Anderson. Turns out he broke up with his long time boyfriend over the Christmas break."

"Well, that's awful timing." He sipped at his mocha to buy him some time. He didn't expect that people would be _gossiping_ about Blaine's breakup - but really, he should have expected it from the music department. They spread as many rumors as McKinley High on a good day.

"Yep," Liz replied, grinning. "You should totally hit that, Kurt. Console him through this hard time."

"Liz!" Kurt exclaimed, sneaking a glance at Blaine. He was getting all of his papers in order, but Kurt could tell he was watching them out of the corner of his eye. "You just used the phrase _hit that_ , your argument is invalid."

Liz shrugged. "Your loss. I still say he'd be interested. He did buy you coffee that one time."

Kurt looked at her incredulously, cup in hand. "Liz, you just bought me coffee. No offense, but I'm not going to go out with you."

Liz held her coffee cup over her heart. "I'm crushed, Kurt. I wanted to add both the Hudson-Hummel boys to my resume."

Kurt gave her an eye roll for good measure just as Blaine started to speak. Liz seemed a little over-invested in Blaine's personal life - he wondered how long he'd be able to keep their relationship from her.

\---

Not even two weeks, it turned out. The next Wednesday, Kurt sat in his seat, a cup of coffee waiting for Liz at hers. He and Blaine had seen each other three times outside of school in the last week and a half. It was a bit hectic juggling schedules - Kurt had his Thursday nights out with Finn and everyone and Blaine did family stuff on Sundays, along with Kurt getting used to his new job and classes and Blaine getting used to having a TA. Friday night, they'd gone out to dinner again, Kurt picking the restaurant; Saturday night, they stayed at Blaine's and cooked together; and last night - well, last night Blaine didn't get home until nine, after an awful day arguing department politics with his fellow professors, and Kurt had come over just for an hour to help Blaine get some of his frustrations out.

Apparently, he left a mark of some of his frustrations on Kurt.

"Hickey!" Liz announced loudly as she stood over Kurt. Kurt's hand flew to his neck. Shit. How had he missed that this morning? He looked around the room and the whole class was staring at them, including Blaine. The hint of a smile played on Blaine's lips, and oh, he was so dead.

Kurt maneuvered around Liz to face his fellow students, circling his finger around his head to indicate her insanity, before pulling her down into her seat. "Are you certifiable?" he hissed. "I'm taking your coffee back."

She snatched it up before he could get to it. "You, Kurt Hummel, have been a very naughty boy, and you've been keeping it from me. Not acceptable. As your fellow gossip hound, you aren't allowed to hide things like this from me."

Kurt glanced back to Blaine, who looked so very pleased with himself. So. Dead. Kurt mentally started rearranging his schedule - maybe he could get out of his plans the next night for a little payback.

"You're not going to tell me who you're fucking, are you?" Liz finally whispered, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Not _here_ ," Kurt pointed out. "Lunch after this. Off campus. Your treat." Hey, she owed him more than just lunch for her shenanigans.

Kurt pulled out his phone to send Blaine a quick text. _I hate you. I don't know why you look so happy._ He watched as Blaine picked up his phone from the podium, smirking and typing a reply.

 _You hate me? Quite the opposite of what you said last night. I'm heading home early tonight though, you know, if you want to expand on why you hate me so much._

Kurt didn't even have time to respond before Blaine launched into that day's lesson.

\---

Kurt and Liz ended up at the cafe in the closest shopping center to campus. Kurt figured he should have specified they shouldn’t go somewhere students frequent, but Liz did actually agree to pay and it wasn't too busy. Kurt ordered an egg white omelet with spinach and mushrooms and the waitress had barely left their table before Liz blurted, "Spill it."

Kurt paused, trying to figure out if he could get out of telling her and twisting the wrapper from his straw to keep his hands busy. "You've got to promise not to tell."

Her face lit up at his words. "Oooh, this is juicy, isn't it?" Liz loved a good piece of gossip - but he knew if he asked, she really wouldn't tell.

Kurt paused for a moment again before continuing. "So, who's the only person who you've suggested I hook up with lately?"

"Me? Kurt Hummel, I did not give you that hickey," Liz joked, before realizing what preceded that comment originally. She gasped loudly and the table next to them stared.

"God, I can't take you anywhere," Kurt muttered. "Keep your voice down."

"So you took my advice? You totally hit that?" Liz said excitedly, ignoring Kurt's muttering and the onlookers' stares.

"No, I'd already _hit that_ before you mentioned it." He shuddered at his word usage. He had to stop hanging out with Liz. "Since New Year's Eve."

Liz gasped again, this time a little quieter. "How did _that_ happen?"

"The night after his breakup - five? Six weeks ago? He was in the Thirsty Tavern and I was leaving and he was there. He looked pathetic. I felt bad for him. So, I stayed and we drank and talked for hours. Then I randomly saw him when I was walking Beau the day before New Year's - he has a dog too - and then the same on New Year's. He lives in my neighborhood. He had ordered new furniture, since his ex took most of it, so I went over to help him arrange it and then he fucked me against his living room wall."

Kurt paused to take a sip of his diet Coke. This story was giving away more and more intimate details each time he told it. He was going to have to tone it down again to tell people like Finn, or his parents. Liz just stared at him, mouth gaping. "Well, that's the cliff notes version at least. Technically, it was just a hand job against the wall and then we fucked in his bed. Multiple times."

"So, you guys are keeping this a secret? Are you like, dating or what?" Liz asked finally, once she found her voice. Their omelets arrived then and Kurt took a bite of his before answering.

"Yeah, at least until the quarter's up. I couldn't find another open class that would work with my schedule on such short notice." Kurt had actually looked. Not that he'd have switched if he'd found something, but hey, it was a good excuse now. "You, my friend Mercedes in Indiana, and his brother know. I think that's it, unless he's told someone else."

Kurt took a few more bites before answering Liz's second question. "I guess we're dating? I really don't know what we're doing. I mean, we've gone on dates, to dinner, a few times. Most of the time though ... well, we don't." Kurt could feel his cheeks blushing and cursed his pale skin. "I don't know how serious it is." _I don't know if I can let it get serious_ , Kurt thought to himself.

"Good for you," Liz proclaimed. "If I was dating that fine piece of ass, I'd skip dinner too. Is he as good in bed as he seems like he'd be?"

"Liz!" Liz was the bluntest person Kurt knew. It was part of the reason why they got along so well - and why she and Finn eventually didn't work out. Today, however, it was getting to him. "Yes," he finally admitted with a groan.

Liz grinned wildly at him and Kurt wondered how many more details she'd weasel out of him before the meal was over.

\---

Kurt worked that afternoon, leaving campus just after six. Blaine had texted him earlier, asking if he was going to come over, to which Kurt had responded _wait and see_. Who was he kidding – he drove straight there instead of home for dinner first. Blaine had a smug expression when he opened the door, like he knew Kurt would come all along.

“You really should tell Liz to stop causing commotions before class,” Blaine said, pulling Kurt inside, hands at his waist. “It’s a bit distracting. How am supposed to get any teaching done?” He ran a finger over the red-purple bruise that had formed on Kurt’s neck and smiled when Kurt breathed in sharply.

“You’re the one who put it there. You should be blaming yourself.” Kurt meant to scold, but with Blaine rubbing his fingers over his neck, his voice came out breathier than he would have liked.

“You came from work, right? Did you eat? Are you hungry?” Blaine asked softly, pulling his hand back from Kurt’s neck and placing it back on his waist.

“Yes, no, no,” he replied, nudging Blaine in the direction of his bedroom. Blaine didn’t budge, however, his eyes still trailing down Kurt’s neck.

“I didn’t mean to do that, you know. I do realize we’re not in high school.” Blaine’s thumb took one more swipe against it, and childish or not, Kurt shivered involuntarily.

“I know you’re dying to make a cheesy joke,” Kurt blurted out in reference to the high school comment. “Please don’t. I know that’ll be hard for you.”

Blaine chuckled softly, reaching down to cup Kurt through his pants. “That’s not the only thing that’s hard for me.” Kurt groaned. He was half hard already. _Damn him._

“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?” He narrowed his eyes at Blaine, who had stopped stroking him. He couldn’t tease and not follow through.

“You did. You’re a quick learner, though, I know from experience,” Blaine said, grinning when Kurt moved closer, trying to get Blaine’s hand back where he wanted. “Okay. No high school jokes. Don’t make any quips about me being old then.”

“That’s fair,” Kurt decided, Blaine finally moving in the direction he wanted him to. “You didn’t say anything about height though. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m taller than you.”

A smirk played on Kurt’s lips, but not for long, because Blaine turned in his tracks, grabbing onto Kurt’s wrists and whispering hot in his ear. “I had noticed. It’s pretty hot, actually.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine’s confession. He’d definitely use that to his advantage later.

\---

By the end of January, most people were sick of winter. Kurt didn’t mind winter so much – the cold didn’t bother him, and winter meant boots and coats and scarves, hello – but he did mind that everyone was either grumpy or sniffling, and he couldn’t go anywhere without fear of catching some sort of disease.

Blaine’s immune system must not have been strong as Kurt’s because by the first week of February, he’d definitely caught a cold. They hadn’t seen each other much. They’d been busy and Kurt didn’t want to get sick – plus Blaine was pretty much collapsing into bed every night. Thursday he mentioned via text he had to work late with a stack of papers to grade, so when Kurt left work, he braved the cold, long walk to the dining hall to pick up some soup and decided to surprise Blaine at his office. If anyone questioned him, the soup was his dinner and he was just stopping to ask a question about his own paper due next week. It was late, so the office assistants were gone and he didn’t have to worry about them.

When Kurt knocked and opened Blaine’s door, Blaine’s brow furrowed at first, but his face softened when he realized it was Kurt.

“Hey,” Kurt whispered, shutting the door behind him. “You still look fairly rough.” Kurt might have been exaggerating a tad for dramatic effect. Blaine definitely looked worse yesterday in class. “Here, I brought you herbal tea and chicken noodle soup,” he said, placing it on Blaine’s desk and settling down in his armchair in the corner of his office.

“You’re amazing,” Blaine finally said, clearing the papers off his desk and looking at Kurt like he still wasn’t sure where he came from. “Seriously, thank you.”

Kurt let Blaine eat, entertaining him with amusing antidotes throughout his day – Sasha and Jake, two of his fellow assistants at the arts center, had a major blow-up over font placement on the newsletter they were putting together and Kurt had just watched in amusement. Halfway through his story, Blaine finished eating and stared at Kurt, his eyes glazed over a little. "You okay?" Kurt asked, tilting his head, concerned.

"Yeah," Blaine said quickly, sitting up straighter. "I just - I haven't seen you outside of class in almost a week and I was getting a little distracted. Your lips. Your lips are very distracting."

"Oh," Kurt said, feeling his cheeks heat up. The last time he really spent much time with Blaine was on Friday, just when Blaine was getting sick, and they'd spent the night on the couch watching old movies. He'd missed Blaine too, of course, but he knew Blaine hadn't felt well and didn't want to appear needy.

Blaine didn't seem to have that problem.

"Come here," he said, reaching out for Kurt from his desk chair. Kurt got up and stood beside him, Blaine wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist and burying his head against Kurt's chest. He sighed happily against him, and Kurt wrapped his fingers in Blaine's curls where the gel had worn off.

Kurt weighed his options. Blaine actually did seem better than he'd been - and he'd spent all Friday night with him without catching whatever he had. Screw it, he thought. Kurt tilted Blaine's head back a bit. "Hey," he said, leaning down to lightly kiss Blaine.

"Mmmhmm," Blaine hummed against his lips, arching his back to reach Kurt better. He didn't waste any time deepening it, and then as an afterthought, broke away to ask, "Don't you have to go meet your friends?"

"I can be late," Kurt answered and as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Blaine was pulling him down into his lap in the chair so Kurt was straddling him. Blaine rolled his hips up and _holy shit_ , he was already hard. The thought of getting off with Blaine in his office was something he'd never considered, but right now it seemed like the best idea _ever_ aside from the fact someone could walk in on them. (And okay, if Kurt was being honest with himself - there was some part of him that found that hot as well.)

"Does your door lock?" Kurt asked breathlessly as Blaine's hands tangled in his hair and he kissed along Kurt's neck.

"Only from the outside," Blaine said in between kisses. "Don't worry about it, I think everyone's gone."

That was enough reassurance for Kurt, so he pressed his hips down against Blaine's, their cocks brushing between too many layers of clothing. Blaine let out a low moan into Kurt's skin. "God, I've missed you."

"Same," Kurt said simply, not thinking too clearly since Blaine was untucking his shirt and pulling it with his sweater up so he could mouth at Kurt's chest.

"How come you never come over Thursday nights after you go out with your friends?" Blaine asked, his voice husky, before running his tongue over a nipple. "I bet you'd be fun all drunk and carefree and loose in my bed."

"I'm not loose enough for you already?" Kurt quipped and Blaine just laughed low against Kurt's skin, making his stomach twist up. "Alright, don't make any plans next Thursday and we'll see. Or, you know, you could just get me drunk on your own."

"Mmmm, tempting," Blaine replied, trailing over to Kurt's other nipple, when the phone rang. They stilled for a moment before Blaine said, "Shit, I should probably get that just in case."

Blaine reached over to answer the phone and Kurt resisted the urge to hike up Blaine's own shirt and keep himself entertained. "Dr. Anderson. Oh, hi Jared," Blaine said, rolling his eyes at Kurt.

Jared was Blaine's TA. He was a nice enough guy. Kurt had taken a few classes with him freshman year, and Jared reminded him a little bit of Finn. In the sense that he was a bit dense. "You can just drop those off tomorrow," he heard Blaine saying, and shit, was he really coming by Blaine's office? Blaine turned to look at Kurt pointedly and said, "You're getting in the elevator now?" _Fuck._ "Alright, see you in a few."

Blaine hung up the phone and he and Kurt stared at each other for a moment before Kurt jumped off his lap. "Your hair is too messed up," Blaine said. "Jared isn't that stupid. Your hair is never messed up. Plus, your clothes ..."

"Do I have enough time to run down the hall?" Kurt asked, even though he knew the answer if Jared was in the elevator. Blaine just continued staring at him like a deer in the headlights, so Kurt scrambled across the room to grab his bag, throwing it under Blaine's desk, and crouching down underneath himself. "Your desk is not made to accommodate almost six foot tall people, Blaine. I know you're short, but." Blaine looked like he was about to retort back, but looked away from Kurt just as the door opened. Damn, that was close.

"Here you go, Dr. A!" he heard Jared say, with a thump above him. Probably the stack of papers he was dropping off. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I was earlier, but now I'm not so sure," Blaine said with a laugh, and _good_ , anything to get him out, Kurt thought.

Jared went off on whatever the papers were, and Kurt honestly couldn't care less, so he tuned him out. He happened to notice that while sitting under Blaine's desk was far from comfortable, he was eye level with Blaine's cock. Kurt still wasn't a porn watcher, but he'd walked in on Finn's viewing enough to know the idea he had was clichéd beyond belief. Still, he could see the appeal, and since everyone was definitely _not gone_ it seemed easier than having to stop to keep hiding.

"Goodbye, Jared, thanks for the papers and see you tomorrow," Kurt heard Blaine say. He heard the door click shut and Blaine pulled back the desk chair to look at Kurt. "Alright, he's gone, get back up here," he whispered.

Kurt shook his head slowly, and Blaine was about to protest, thinking the interruption had scared Kurt off. "I have a better idea," Kurt said, palming over Blaine's cock and unzipping his zipper.

"Holy fuck, Kurt," Blaine breathed out, and it was going to be worth it for the look of shock on Blaine's face alone.

"You're going to have to keep quiet. Do you think you can do that?" Kurt asked, sinking his mouth down as far as he could before Blaine could answer, hearing Blaine's breath hitch trying to keep silent. He smiled to himself, bobbing a bit and working up a rhythm between his mouth and his hand.

"Seriously, Kurt, you look so -" Blaine started to say, but Kurt pulled off completely, shushing him, and Blaine shut his mouth after that. Kurt rewarded his silence, swirling around his head with his tongue before sinking back down. Kurt was just contemplating what to do with his own cock that was straining against his jeans when there was a knock on the door.

They both stilled again, Kurt finally pulling his mouth off Blaine's cock, but keeping his hand firm at the base, because guests or not, Kurt needed to get off before he left and it was getting late. He knew Blaine was getting close and he didn't have the time or the patience to start all over. He nodded at Blaine who nodded back and said, "Yeah, come in."

"Are you delirious enough that you're talking to yourself?" Kurt heard a female voice tease. Dr. Liles. She was Kurt's favorite professor after Blaine - well, he supposed she took the top spot now, since he really couldn't keep Blaine in the running. His class before Blaine's was one of hers, and he was going to have a hard time keeping a straight face the next day. He didn't even have Liz to commiserate with.

"Yeah, sorry, mumbling to myself. I have one class that's full of idiots this quarter," Blaine replied, thankfully with an even voice.

"You look like shit, Anderson," Dr. Liles said. "I thought you were getting better. You're sweating and it's freezing in here."

Kurt bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing at her observation. "Thanks," Blaine said sarcastically. "I'm trying to finish up these papers so I don't have to stay after my last class tomorrow. I'll have two and a half days to finally beat this thing."

"That's a good plan, but don't kill yourself." Kurt started to stroke Blaine slowly with his hand, not enough to do anything, just to keep his cock interested in him instead of the conversation. The conversation that was thankfully almost over. "Alright, I'm out for the night. Don't stay too much longer, seriously. If I don't see you tomorrow, feel better."

"Thanks Emilie," Blaine said, his voice audibly pained, and Kurt heard the door click shut again. Blaine waited a few beats and then groaned softly. "This isn't going to work is it?"

"Sure as hell it is," Kurt replied quietly. "Here, lean forward." He let go of Blaine's cock and pulled at his legs until Blaine did what Kurt wanted. "You're going to fuck my mouth so I have both hands to get myself off."

Blaine's face in response to that was another one Kurt had to commit to memory. "Seriously, are you sure -"

"Yeah, I'm sure, come on, come on. I had a whole two minutes to work this out because that was better than worrying about looking Dr. Liles in the face tomorrow morning. I need to come before we have any other visitors. Just keep your mouth shut, and I won't, obviously." Kurt sunk his mouth back down over Blaine's cock before he could protest, opening his throat and unzipping his own pants.

Blaine thankfully took the hint and his hips began to move, slowly at first. Kurt tried to concentrate on everything going on to speed this up - Blaine's hands tight in his hair, the taste and smell and _feel_ of Blaine's cock heavy on his tongue and his lips tight around it, his own fist wrapped tight around his own dick. Not that he could come before Blaine, he'd probably choke to death (that would be just his luck), but enough time had been wasted. Kurt listened to Blaine's breath getting more and more ragged, his hips finally working faster now that he wasn't thinking so much.

Kurt's estimations on Blaine being close were correct, because he tightened his fingers in Kurt's hair and Kurt looked up through his lashes to see Blaine looking down at him, biting hard on his own bottom lip to keep quiet - and really, it was a miracle he'd managed to do so. Blaine came wordlessly, Kurt swallowing every drop, and as soon as he pulled his cock from Kurt's mouth, Blaine was on the ground sloppily kissing Kurt and covering his hand with his own to finish jerking him off. After Kurt came, when he and Blaine were still breathing heavily and coming down, he had a brief thought that he was glad Blaine had one of those plastic chair mats over his carpet, because it would make for easy cleanup. He told Blaine, who just laughed and said, "After all we did, _that's_ what you come up with first?"

\---

Kurt ended up getting to the Thirsty Tavern quite late, texting Finn with a heads up and blaming work. When he walked to their usual high tops off to the side, there were a surprising number of people there already - Finn, Linda, Lindsay, Matt, and Kyle were at one with Santana, Dari, and Sean at the other. Lindsay and Dari were two girls in the music department Kurt had bonded with sophomore year and were still around because Finn had never dated them (Dari was more Santana's type than Finn's though, and partially the reason Santana showed up every week, though she'd never admit it). Linda was Finn’s current girlfriend. They’d been going out since last summer and Kurt didn’t particularly like her, but he’d never tell Finn that.

Matt and Kyle reminded him of the boys at Dalton and were mainly Finn's friends, and Sean was the other token gay boy in the group. Sean and Kurt had never dated, because they were too much alike and bickered constantly (though, they had drunkenly made out one at a Christmas party one year and vowed it would never _ever_ happen again). Still, Kurt considered Sean a good friend, one he hadn't spent enough time with this quarter since they had no classes together and well, his free time was spent with Blaine. He made a mental note to make lunch plans with him before the night was out.

Even though Kurt had stopped in the bathroom at school on his way out, taking his time to fix his clothes and hair and wash his face, Santana wasn't fooled. She narrowed her eyes at him as he approached, as if she was trying to figure out what she was missing, and she announced loudly, "Hummel! You got laid!"

Everyone turned to look at him and it was a miracle Kurt didn’t blush. He glared at Santana and it wasn’t long before Finn rolled his eyes and returned to his conversation with the friends at his table - something about the Super Bowl. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Santana," he said coolly, sliding into the extra seat next to Dari, nudging her shoulder with his as a greeting. His voice was still a little rough from actually getting laid (or doing the laying, he supposed) and he hoped they wouldn’t notice.

"No, she's right!" Sean announced. "I've totally made out with you before, so I have authority on the subject! Your hair is so messed up, and your _lips_ , Kurt. Those lips have been engaging with some serious face time with someone else."

Sean, Santana, and Dari continued to stare at him silently as if they were trying to piece together a puzzle. Luckily, Kate came up to take his drink order, and he hoped they'd be distracted enough to change the subject. Unfortunately, Kurt really should have known better than that. They were still staring at him when Kate left, waiting for his rebuttal.

"It was windy in the parking garage at school and I forgot my lip balm at home. You all are just way off base here." Kurt glared at them some more, sipping at the water Kate had brought him.

"Your bitch glare is only at like, half force," Santana continued, still squinting. "You're totally getting laid. Which, you deserve to Hummel. I much prefer you when you're getting sex on a regular basis, so, go you."

Kurt gave her an exaggerated eye roll. "I'm only an hour late, I can't believe you guys are drunk already," he commented dryly.

"Right, working late," Santana commented, complete with air quotes. "AKA you couldn't leave your boy toy on time to meet us. Damn, the sex must be _really_ good."

Kate returned with his drink before he could respond, and Sean grabbed her arm. "Kate, you're an innocent bystander. Does Kurt look different to you?"

She squinted at him for a moment before saying, "Hmmm, yes, but I don't know why. He looks happier even though he's glaring at me?" Kate grinned and ruffled his hair, messing it up even _more_ before heading to another table. Kurt had done so well trying to downplay everything, but he could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Oh, look, we made him blush!" Sean said, clapping his hands together. Santana held up her hand for a high five, which Sean returned.

"Okay, guys, knock it off. If Kurt doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to," Dari said, wrapping her left arm around Kurt's shoulders, pulling him in for a side hug. "Though congrats," she whispered in his ear before changing the subject back to a story about some guy in her Earth Science class who finally showed up that day after missing five weeks of classes.

As he listened, Kurt decided Dari was much more deserving of his lunch plans than Sean.

\---

“So, I was facebook stalking you.” Kurt wasn’t quite sure what prompted him to bring that up – it was Valentine’s Day and they were at Blaine’s house, decidedly not going anywhere. Blaine had sung along with the background music from his ipod while he cooked dinner for them, and it was the first time he’d really heard Blaine sing other than a few bars in class. Blaine had a wonderful voice and Kurt was confused to why he didn’t use it more. Now they were seated on the couch on their second bottle of wine and Kurt couldn’t be bothered to think of serious things like that.

Looking back, he could definitely blame the wine for the facebook comment.

“You were, were you?” An amused smile played on Blaine’s lips. Kurt was leaning against the armrest, his legs splayed out in front of him, and Blaine crawled in between them, resting his hands at Kurt’s sides. “Tell me more about this facebook stalking.”

Oh. Right. There was a point to this admission. Kurt took another sip of wine and narrowed his eyes at Blaine. “Were you going to tell me about this birthday you have next month? March fifteenth, if I read correctly?”

Blaine winced a little and he stared at Kurt’s chest. “Eventually? It’s the first Sunday of spring break, I didn’t know if you had plans.”

Kurt rolled his eyes in response. “Yes, because I never break plans ever,” he said, referring to the New Year’s trip he bailed on. “Regardless, you really should tell the person you’re sleeping with about your birthday.”

“When’s yours?” Blaine asked, suddenly interested in the hem of Kurt’s shirt, running his fingers on the stitching.

Kurt stilled Blaine’s fingers with his own and Blaine finally looked up at him. “September sixth. So, you have a while,” Kurt said, locking their fingers together. “And don’t change the subject,” he chastised as an afterthought, pointing a finger from his other hand at him.

Blaine sighed. “I’ve just never been one to make a big deal of it, that’s all. I usually have dinner with my family at some point, and that’s it.”

Kurt watched Blaine’s expression change, and he knew he was missing a story there but didn’t feel like prying. “Okay,” he said eventually, “but I’m going to assume I’m not included for dinner with your family. So, let’s try this again. What do you want to do just the two of us?”

“You could be included, if you wanted,” Blaine said, now staring at their entwined hands. If Kurt hadn’t been tipsy, the ambiguity of the statement would have bugged the hell out of him. They still hadn’t had the discussion of what they were or weren’t or what the hell they were doing. Kurt figured that discussion would come once the quarter was over. Not that it mattered so much, but then they ran into things like this where Blaine obviously wanted Kurt to come but couldn’t just be honest about it because he didn’t know how Kurt felt and Kurt didn’t really know how to tell him how he felt.

“If you want me there, I’ll be there,” Kurt countered before reaching over to the coffee table to refill his wine glass. “I do have plans at the end of spring break – I’m heading back to Lima Thursday or Friday to see my dad and Mercedes, because her spring break is the following week. Other than that, I’m free. I don’t even have any exams on the Friday before and the arts center is kicking the student workers out for ten days, so that gives me almost a whole week of free time to do _something_ for your birthday. You won’t be happy with what I come up with if you leave me to my own devices.” Kurt waggled his eyebrows at Blaine as a warning.

“Now I’m curious what you would do,” Blaine said, sitting up to grab his own wine glass on the table. He drained the last little bit and set the empty glass back down. “If you really want to do something – I have frequent flyer miles that I’ve been saving and they’re going to expire this summer. We could go somewhere for a few days.”

Kurt stared at him blankly for a few minutes. Sure, his own imaginary plans consisted of driving somewhere for the day where they wouldn’t have to worry about running into people who knew them, but suddenly getting out of Ohio for a few days seemed like a perfect plan. He finished his own wine, faster than he probably should have and setting his glass next to Blaine’s. He reached out and pulled Blaine forward so he was resting on Kurt’s chest again. “Go somewhere? Like where?”

Blaine shrugged. “Anywhere. You have something in mind?”

Kurt blinked at him. He’d been on trips involving planes exactly three times in his life, all to New York City. Twice for Nationals, and one more time last spring break, when he finally got over being jealous of Rachel and visited her for a week, sleeping on the floor of her apartment and getting student discount tickets to Broadway shows every day.

“I don’t really travel,” Kurt admitted, “aside from things in driving distance from Ohio. It seems like you do, since you have enough airline miles for free tickets.”

“Well then, we _have_ to go somewhere,” Blaine said cheerfully, playing with the top button on Kurt’s shirt. “Where have you always wanted to go?”

“It’s _your_ birthday!” Kurt exclaimed. When Blaine didn’t let up, he finally said, “I haven’t really thought about it. I was considering going to Europe after I graduate, but that is starting to seem like a giant waste of money, all things considered. Also, not something you can do in a few days.”

Blaine’s face got serious for a moment, drumming his fingers against Kurt’s collarbone. “What are your plans after graduation?”

Another conversation Kurt couldn’t be bothered to have while drunk. “New York,” he said, quickly. “I don’t have it all worked out yet, obviously, but I’m going to New York.”

Blaine’s fingers stopped moving and he smiled. “I figured. Ohio’s too small for you, even with my enticing offers of graduate studies.” Kurt didn’t know quite what to say in response to Blaine’s quiet acceptance that Kurt was leaving Ohio in a year and a half. Not that he expected Blaine to beg him to stay – and not that he wanted him to – but that was not the response he’d envisioned.

He just sat there with his mouth gaping a bit before Blaine finally changed the subject. “So, Europe’s out. Do you even have a passport?” Kurt nodded, trying not to think of his failed study abroad attempts, and Blaine continued. “Canada has some places that remind me of Europe. Montreal, maybe? It’s March, though. It’ll be cold and probably rainy.”

Kurt laughed, going with the change of subject. “Cold and rainy is kind of my weather, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“I figured the beach scene wasn’t quite up your alley,” Blaine teased. “Okay. That sounds like a lovely birthday. I’ll look into it all tomorrow, check flights and see if my brother can watch the dog.”

Kurt was about to protest once again that it was _Blaine’s_ birthday, and he shouldn’t be doing all the work, but before he could, Blaine’s lips were on his and he forgot everything he’d intended to say. It must not have been important.

\---

The last two weeks of the quarter were when Kurt really started to panic about things. Realistically, he knew he was in good shape - he'd started both of his final papers and was close to perfecting the arrangement for his final solo in Dr. Liles's class. Blaine saw him slumped over his books again in Starbucks on Tuesday and insisted he take a night off. He'd stayed the night at Blaine's and Kurt was glad he had - he hadn't felt so relaxed in weeks.

Wednesday morning, however, he didn't have the same feelings. Blaine might be enjoying the fantasy he'd had a few months ago of Kurt sitting in his class the morning after he'd fucked him senseless (twice, in fact), but the classroom seats were hard. Blaine obviously hadn't thought that part through.

"What is wrong with you?" Liz hissed halfway through Blaine's lecture. "You can't sit still today! Did you get an extra shot or twelve in your mocha?"

Kurt just gave her an evil eye and kept scribbling notes down in his notebook. Most people had switched to typing away on their laptops or netbooks, but Kurt was old fashioned and liked to have a hard copy of class notes (plus, it avoided the question of 'Can someone email me the notes from today?'). Blaine must have taken pity on him, because he ended class ten minutes early, and Kurt waited while the rest of his classmates filed out of the room.

"I'm sorry?" Blaine said, wincing a little when Kurt walked up stone-faced.

"No, you're not," Kurt responded, dropping his voice in case anyone came back to retrieve items they'd left behind. "Do you have any plans tomorrow night? If you do, cancel them. I have the house to myself and I think payback would be the appropriate solution to this predicament."

It was Finn and Linda's nine-month anniversary (one of the many reasons why Kurt wasn't fond of Linda - she celebrated _month-iversaries_ ), and Finn had mentioned he'd be staying the night at her place. Kurt bit his tongue in order to not make a pregnancy joke about their anniversary date, thinking it would be in bad taste, and god forbid it actually turn into the truth. Another pregnancy scare from Finn wasn't something he thought he or his parents could handle.

"Thursday night? Won't your friends wonder where you are?" Blaine asked, tilting his head to the side a little.

Kurt waved his hand dismissively. "They already know I'm fucking someone. They just don't know who. I gave up on caring what they think a long time ago."

\---

Thanks to the one and only Finn Hudson, Blaine hadn't been back to Kurt's house since that day in December when they randomly ran into each other. It was just easier knowing no one would disturb them at Blaine's house.

"It's too bad I didn't get to see your room the last time I was here," Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear after taking off his boots and coat and greeting Beau. "I've been so curious to see where Kurt Hummel sleeps."

Kurt figured what was the point of making him wait even longer, so he grabbed Blaine’s hand and led him, shutting the door behind them just in case. “Does it fit the bill?” Kurt asked, turning down the sheets and climbing into the bed.

“Of course it does,” Blaine said, not far behind him. Kurt leaned back against the pillows and Blaine hovered over him, kissing the shell of his ear before whispering, “It’ll be a wonderful visual aid when I think about you here alone at night.”

“You’re awful,” Kurt said as Blaine sucked his earlobe into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the sensitive skin.

“Like you don’t do the same,” Blaine teased, his voice a little louder but still low. Of course Kurt did the same, but he didn’t go around proclaiming it.

“I thought I was running this dog and pony show,” Kurt protested, flipping them and straddling Blaine’s thighs. “Since you can’t be trusted not to get _overzealous_.”

“You left the dog outside. Who’s the pony? Wait, don’t answer that,” Blaine added with one glance at Kurt’s expression.

“I wouldn’t, because I have more class than you.” Kurt scoffed and tugged at the arms of Blaine’s shirt, pulling it off in one swift motion before tackling his. Kurt leaned down to cover Blaine’s body with his own before he kissed him, soft and slow even though he could tell Blaine wanted more.

“You may be classy, but you’re also a tease,” Blaine grunted, rolling his hips up, but not getting the friction he wanted.

“I don’t know why I keep thinking one of these days you’ll learn how to be patient.” Kurt rolled off Blaine to take his pants off and motioned for Blaine to do the same. “Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Repeating the same action and expecting different results?” Kurt ran his eyes over Blaine’s now naked body, thinking teasing or not, he could repeat the same actions with Blaine and never get bored.

“You’re staring,” Blaine said, awkwardly shifting a little on the pillows.

“So observant,” Kurt replied, ghosting his hand down his body to his half-hard cock. “I have half a mind to lay here and just jerk off while you watch instead. That seems like more effective payback.”

Kurt watched Blaine’s eyes trail down to his hand and his breath hitch. “You wouldn’t get to fuck me, though,” Blaine pointed out.

“That is the flaw in the plan,” Kurt conceded, bridging the gap between them on the pillows and kissing Blaine like he really wanted him to, hard and fast and tongues swirling. “Still,” Kurt said, trailing his lips over the line of Blaine’s jaw, “might be worth it. Maybe some other time?”

“Sounds like a plan, because I really want you to fuck me,” Blaine said, desperately grabbing at Kurt to pull him closer, and Kurt just laughed low in his throat. “Do you want me how you were the other night?”

Kurt nodded and went to retrieve the condoms and lube from his bedside drawer, turning back around to find Blaine on his hands and knees, his head inches away from being buried in the pillows. Kurt got in position on his knees behind him, trailing his hands lightly over Blaine’s ass and thighs. He was staring again, he knew, and it wouldn’t be long before Blaine started to get impatient. Sure enough, just as he spread Blaine open, Blaine whined back at him, “Kurt, _please_ , I need a finger.”

“I have a better idea,” Kurt said slowly, before leaning forward to lick a thick stripe up the crease of Blaine’s ass. He felt Blaine shiver beneath him and figured he should ask. “Is that okay?”

“Oh my god, Kurt, on what planet would that not be okay?” Blaine shifted and groaned into the pillow and Kurt took that as a sign to continue. He worked his tongue slowly at first, not to tease as much as to draw it out a tad, because Blaine’s breath was already so ragged and he’d barely touched him.

Apparently Blaine thought he was still teasing. “Kurt,” he pleaded, and Kurt thought to himself he _really_ needed to take advantage of Blaine’s lack of patience one of these days. He gave in though, swirling his tongue at Blaine’s entrance, letting saliva drip down to his balls before pushing his tongue into Blaine.

It had been far too long – years – since Kurt had been with someone he’d felt comfortable enough to do this with and he wished he’d done it sooner. It was no secret Blaine was a babbler, but noises coming out of his mouth weren’t even complete sentences, let alone words, and Kurt’s cock twitched with every new sound. Finally, Blaine bit out, “You’re going to make me come just from your _mouth_ , Kurt,” and Kurt slipped a finger in alongside his tongue because as wonderful as that sounded, there was no question on what the goal was here. Kurt worked Blaine open with his tongue and finger, slipping another one in not far behind.

He hadn’t even worked up to a third finger when Blaine said brokenly, “Kurt, I need – I need you, not your fingers, your cock.”

Kurt pulled himself away long enough to say, "Blaine, you're not -"

"I know, I know, I don't care. Please, Kurt."

"Fuck, I love it when you beg," Kurt said, pulling his fingers out and rummaging around for the lube in the sheets. He coated three fingers with lube anyway, despite Blaine's protests, stretching him open and brushing against his prostate to keep him begging. Only when Blaine whined his name one more time did Kurt remove his fingers and fish a condom out of the box.

"Finally," Blaine hissed when Kurt lined his cock up at Blaine's entrance and Kurt smacked his thigh.

"I swear, Blaine, one of these days -" Kurt trailed off as he slipped the head of his cock in, waiting for the rings of muscle to stretch around him. "Fuck, Blaine, you're so tight, you should have let me -"

"No, come on, move," Blaine said, trying to inch backwards. Kurt gripped at his hips to still him, moving slowly until the base of his cock was flush against Blaine's ass.

"God, you look so good like this." Kurt didn't want to move from the spot he was in just yet, so he settled for grinding against Blaine, his nails digging into Blaine's skin from keeping him still.

"Probably not as good as you feel," Blaine countered, and Blaine felt pretty amazing himself, Kurt thought, warm and wet and so, so tight around his cock.

Blaine shifted the angle of his hips slightly and it felt like Kurt was even deeper inside. He began to thrust then, long, sure strokes while he pulled Blaine's hips back to meet him. Kurt had finally shut Blaine up, the room was silent aside from the rhythmic slapping of skin on skin and Blaine's short, breathy moans every time the head of Kurt's cock dragged against his prostate.

"Come on, touch yourself, Blaine." Kurt could tell Blaine was getting close and Blaine balanced on his shoulder, lifting his ass even higher, so he could get one hand down to stroke himself. Not more than a few strokes in, he came hard, clenching around Kurt's cock again and again, and that always did it for Kurt, _always_.

Kurt pulled out slowly and Blaine fell against the pillows. Kurt tied off the condom and was about to go dispose of it when Blaine said, "C'mere." He pulled him into a kiss, long and lingering and oddly sweet, considering everything they'd just done, and Kurt couldn't help smiling when they broke.

"Be right back," he whispered on Blaine's lips before padding to the bathroom to throw away the condom and wipe down his face. Kurt walked back to the bed and collapsed on it next to Blaine. He took the opportunity to use Blaine's chest as a pillow when Blaine wrapped his arms around him.

They laid in silence for what seemed like forever, listening to each other breathe, when Blaine whispered in Kurt's hair, "God, I love you."

Kurt froze. His first thought was to respond _no you don't_ , but he caught himself before he stuck his foot in his mouth. This whole time Kurt's mantra had been _you cannot fall in love with Blaine Anderson_ (not that it had really worked, if he was being honest). Kurt had thought it through and he _couldn't_ let himself fall in love because he was headed to New York City next August and Blaine most definitely was not.

Kurt knew Blaine moving to New York didn't make a shred of sense. He had a job and a house and a family - three things he loved most definitely more than Kurt. He loved seeing his nephews grow up and even though things had been less than stellar with his parents when he was younger, they'd apparently reached a point of mutual understanding. Kurt suddenly knew how Rachel felt with Finn at the end of their junior year - except there had always been a chance Finn would have followed her. Kurt had no chance. This wasn't high school. It wasn't as easy.

Kurt felt Blaine stiffen in his arms and shit, he hadn't said anything back. "Crap, I just said that out loud, didn't I?" Kurt pulled back so he could see Blaine's face, and Blaine looked a bit terrified. Kurt felt a hair better for freaking out. "Kurt, I -"

"Hey, it's okay," Kurt said, even though he wasn't really sure he believed himself. "Don't apologize." Kurt reached over to pet at Blaine's cheek to comfort him before pulling him into what he hoped was a firm, reassuring kiss. Blaine still wasn't meeting his eye when they broke. "You know, if I was a nice guy I'd say something about how I was falling quite hard for you too."

"That would make me feel a bit better," Blaine said, his eyes wide and a little desperate, and Kurt kind of hated himself for what came out of his mouth next, but he wanted to lighten the mood.

"Too bad I'm not a nice guy." Kurt yelped then when Blaine pinched his shoulder hard. "I deserved that," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "Blaine, look, I -"

Blaine placed two fingers over Kurt's mouth. "Kurt, you don't have to explain yourself." Kurt kissed the tips of them and Blaine finally smiled.

Blaine was giving him an out, because he actually _was_ a nice guy, and Kurt took it. He settled back against Blaine’s chest and waited a beat before he spoke. “Are we okay?”

When Blaine didn’t answer right away, Kurt looked up at him. His face was unreadable for a second before it softened. “Of course.”

Kurt didn’t even have time to respond before he heard noises coming from the entryway. A door opening, keys dropping on the table, Beau’s paws scraping over the floor. What was Finn doing home?

“I thought he was going to be out all night,” Blaine whispered, letting go of Kurt so they both could sit up.

“He was,” Kurt answered, wracking his brain. There was no talking, so Finn was alone. “I should probably go check on him,” he said as an afterthought. He hopped down from the bed, wandering around the room to collect his clothes and telling Blaine to stay put.

“Hello?” Kurt called out as he left his room. He saw Finn sitting at the kitchen table, looking forlorn. “What happened?”

Finn looked up, as if he just realized Kurt had entered the kitchen. "She broke up with me, dude. On our anniversary. I like, _spent money_ and then she broke up with me. She met someone else"

"Ouch," Kurt said, walking over to rub idly at Finn's back as he buried his head in his hands. "That was uncalled for. And also? Probably not what you want to hear right now, but I never liked her." Finn picked his head up and shot him a confused glance. "I'm just saying. This is coming from the guy who tends to befriend your ex girlfriends."

Kurt sighed, walking over to the fridge to grab the jug of milk and a saucepan from the cupboard. "Did she tell you there was someone else?" Kurt asked as he rummaged for the honey and vanilla. It had been too long since he and Finn had a warm milk and chat session and there was no time like the present.

"Yeah," Finn said, blinking at him. "Yeah, I think she felt bad, you know, because I took her to dinner and everything. It kind of just all spilled out when we were back at her place."

Finn sat in silence as Kurt heated the milk, Kurt keeping mum as well and leaving him to his thoughts. When he sat down across from Finn, handing him a mug, he finally spoke. "I'm really sorry, Finn," he said, sincerely. As much as he wasn't a fan of Linda's, he hated that Finn was in this situation. Finn was a nice guy and it wasn't the first time someone had tried to take advantage of his generosity.

"Yeah," Finn replied, his brow knitting up. "Yeah, thanks." They drank their milk for a while, no one speaking. Kurt didn't know what else to say - Finn had gone through far more breakups than Kurt, and he'd run out of original inspirational sayings a few cycles ago. Not that Kurt should be giving advice - there was one very naked Blaine Anderson in his bed that was proof he was bad at this relationship stuff (not that Blaine was any better).

Apparently Kurt shouldn't even _think_ about Blaine in Finn's presence, because as soon as he did, it was like a lightbulb went off. "Hey," Finn said slowly, realization drawing on his face. "Who else is here?"

Well, _shit_.

"There's an extra car in the driveway. Are you hiding someone in your room or something?" Finn's eyes grew wide. "You totally are, aren't you?" he said excitedly.

"You were supposed to be gone all night!" Kurt hissed at him. He had half a mind to kick him back out, breakup or not.

"Woah. Santana was right." Once the words were out and he processed what he'd said and cringed. "Wait! Why don't I know about this guy? Is it someone I _know_?"

If Kurt wasn't so annoyed with the whole thing, he'd be laughing at Finn's ever-changing expressions on his face. It had certainly been a roller coaster of emotions. "Possibly," he answered, glaring at Finn.

"Wow. So, this is either really embarrassing or really serious," Finn mused, pausing for a moment - probably thinking of every single gay guy he'd ever come in contact with.

It sort of hit Kurt how right Finn was - this was the most serious relationship he'd had in a while. "I think it's the latter," Kurt sad quietly. "The second one, Finn," he added at Finn's confused glance.

Finn broke out in a grin. "It _is_ really serious. I can see it in your face. Just - it's not Sean, is it?" Finn looked horrified for a second and Kurt actually did laugh at that.

"No," Kurt spit out in between laughs. "It's not anyone from that whole group. I'll tell you soon, it's just - it's complicated."

Finn nodded and faked a huge yawn. "No pressure. I'm just going to head to my room, I think. Maybe watch a movie on my laptop or something." He winked at Kurt and got up from the table, carrying his mug and calling for Beau to follow.

Sometimes, Finn was a smart guy. Kurt appreciated it when he was.

Kurt walked back into his bedroom to see Blaine perched on the edge of his bed fully dressed. He had his _socks_ back on. "Hey," he said, trying not to appear as confused as he felt.

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked, swinging his legs back and forth a little against Kurt's footboard.

"Yeah," Kurt said slowly, still trying to figure out what was going on. "Finn's girlfriend broke up with him. It's their anniversary and, well. He retreated to his room with warm milk and the promise of whatever movies straight guys watch after a breakup." A small smile formed on Blaine's lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Is everything okay in here?" He hadn't meant it to sound accusatory, but it sort of did, and he thought he saw Blaine flinch.

"I just should probably head out. We both have to be in early tomorrow." Blaine had schooled his face back to that pleasant mask he sometimes wore, the one that Kurt saw right through.

"Wait. Can we talk about this?" Kurt said as Blaine got up to walk to the door. He was trying really hard not to cross his arms over his chest and close himself off, so he dropped his hands to his sides.

"I just think it would be best if I leave. We can talk later." Blaine's hand was on the doorknob and he wasn't meeting Kurt's eye. So much for everything being okay. "We just - we obviously aren't on the same page here."

 _Motherfucker._

"Blaine," Kurt pleaded, reaching out to catch his hand. Blaine pulled it away quickly.

"I know I said we have to keep this quiet, but Finn doesn't know, does he? My family knows, Kurt. They don't know the details of who you are because it doesn't matter, but they know I'm dating someone that's made me the happiest I've been in a long time."

Kurt felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. "You think I haven't told Finn because I don't want my family to know? Blaine, you've met Finn. He's a blabbering idiot who happens to be taking classes in the music department. I don't have a hidden agenda here." Their voices were getting a little loud and Kurt was suddenly thankful for the split bedrooms and the noise canceling headphones he'd given Finn for Christmas.

Kurt heaved a sigh and sat down on the bed. "For the record, Finn does know I'm dating someone. He said it either had to be embarrassing or serious since I wouldn't tell him who, and embarrassing never came out of my mouth." Blaine finally let go of the door handle and went to sit next to Kurt on the bed. Looking at him closely, Kurt could see tears pricking at the corner of Blaine's eyes. God, why did he have to fuck this up?

Kurt turned his head to stare at the doorway even though he could feel Blaine's eyes on him. "Also, me not saying - _that_ \- has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I - I can't fall in love with you," he stammered. There, it was out. "I won't let myself, and you're making it really difficult, just so you know. I won't let myself because next summer I'll be headed to New York and you'll be here in Columbus, and I just can't _do_ that to myself again, Blaine. I know it's a long time away, but I can't. I've done it once before and -"

"Oh, Kurt," Blaine said softly, cutting him off and turning Kurt's head to face him. Blaine's palm was warm on his cheek and he leaned forward to press their foreheads together. "Like you said, that's a long time away. I don't know if we'll still be together then, but I sure hope we will. I know I certainly won't be breaking up with you over some stupid reason like you moving to another city. I'm crazy about you, Kurt, and I'd follow you just about anywhere."

"Oh. Well then," Kurt said breathlessly, because what do you _say_ to that? Blaine's thumb was petting at Kurt's cheek in slow, firm strokes and Kurt got lost in the repetitiveness of it for a minute. "But what about - your _life_ is here, Blaine. You have a house and a family and a job."

Blaine smirked at him, pulling his hand back. "I hear they have colleges in New York too. What a novel concept."

"Smart ass. You are _such_ a smart ass."

"Shall I refer you to an earlier conversation in which you referred to yourself as not a nice guy?"

Kurt narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, making it very clear his teasing was done. "That's just - that's a lot, Blaine."

"I know. That's why I didn't say anything. I didn't want to scare you off, because I know we've only been dating two months, but I mean what I said." Kurt locked eyes with Blaine, and the expression on his face was so _earnest_ , Kurt couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. "Are we okay?" Blaine asked afterwards.

Kurt nodded. "Stay the night?"

"Of course," Blaine said quickly. "I left the dog door open in the back for Brady."

"Ugh, maybe I need to rethink this whole bringing you to New York thing," Kurt teased. "I forgot you have _a dog_."

"You joke all you want," Blaine retorted, pulling off his socks and climbing back into the bed. "I know the truth. You love that mutt of Finn's just as much as he does."

"Beau is not a _mutt_. He's a French Bulldog, your dog is a mutt ... shut up," he added at the pointed look Blaine was giving him. He settled back down against his pillows. "Beau will _not_ be coming to New York."

"Brady will. We're kind of a package deal." Blaine grinned stupidly at Kurt and Kurt just rolled his eyes.

He almost said _you're lucky I love you_ , but caught himself. After their discussion, he wasn't just going to throw it out there like it meant nothing. "Blaine Anderson, stop talking about dogs and get naked again before I change my mind and kick you out."

"Bossy," Blaine scolded, but he pulled his shirt over his head all the same.

"You know you like it," Kurt responded, pulling off his own jeans and tossing them to the floor.

Blaine grabbed Kurt's arm to still him long enough to kiss him, slow and lingering, enough to distract Kurt from the task at hand. "Of course I do."

\---

The next morning, Kurt woke up before Blaine and as tempted as he was to cuddle against him, he knew if he didn't get moving they'd both be late. He hopped in the shower before raiding his closet for a Blaine appropriate outfit – or at least one Kurt would be okay giving up the chance to wear to school for a while.

Blaine wasn’t far behind, and Kurt left for the kitchen while he got ready to make breakfast. He sent a lenghty text to Finn. _1) My guest stayed the night. 2) I’m making French toast and bacon. 3) Don’t freak out when you see who it is. 4) Wear clothes, Finn. CLOTHES. 5) The French toast is kind of a bribe, fyi._

“Okay, whatever you’re making smells amazing,” Blaine commented, walking in the kitchen with his hair still damp. He attempted to steal a piece of bacon and Kurt just swatted at his hand.

“It’s not for you,” Kurt pointed out, amused. “It’s for Finn. So he can keep his mouth shut for two weeks.” Blaine pouted, sticking his bottom lip out and looking pathetic. “I may have made extras. Consider yourself lucky.”

Blaine grinned as he turned around and leaned against the counter, successfully stealing a piece of bacon from the plate this time. “I am.”

He just rolled his eyes, glad that things were back to the way they were supposed to be – Blaine being cheesy, and Kurt being appalled. Kurt passed him an empty plate and told him to help himself instead of blatantly stealing, and he’d just sat down at the table to join Blaine when they heard Finn’s door open.

Beau trotted out first, smelling the bacon and running to Kurt’s feet. Finn followed close behind, his hair sticking up every which way and rubbing at his eyes. “Hi Kurt, hi … Dr. A,” Finn said, looking thoroughly confused and making a beeline to the stove for food. “Wow … not even on the list of possible guys I thought up last night.”

Kurt exchanged a playful glance with Blaine. “Do I even want to know who was on that list?”

“Probably not,” Finn admitted, using far too much maple syrup on his French toast. “I was in a bad emotional state last night.”

“Sorry about your breakup, Finn,” Blaine said, frowning a bit as he cut into his own piece of French toast.

“It’s alright,” Finn said a bit apprehensively before adding, “yeah, this is weird. I’m gonna – I’m gonna take mine to go.” Finn piled the rest of the bacon on his plate and headed for his bedroom, avoiding eye contact.

Kurt and Blaine tried to contain their laughter until they heard the click of Finn’s door. “And you wonder why I didn’t tell Finn,” Kurt teased, running his socked foot over Blaine’s.

“I promise to trust your judgment from now on,” Blaine said solemnly.

Kurt knew he could hold Blaine to it.


End file.
